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I slammed the side door of the transport I'd made out of an old, modified camper. Fin and Emerson were inside, ready to go. I had my knives in my leg holsters and my handguns stowed by the driver's seat. Theo's people were loading extra weapons, ammo, and supplies into the reinforced storage bin on the back of the RV, under the watchful eye of the human's creepy, not-so-human butler. I didn't know what the tall, blond parody of a pre-rift British servant was, but he'd once threatened to fill my lungs with water he drew from the air around us, so...I was going with at least cur. Maybe even full fiend. How he ended up working for a human was anyone's guess. Though...given how annoying and persistent the asshole was, I could see Theo wearing the poor guy down until he agreed to serve just to get the human to shut up.
If Theo thought that tactic was going to work on me, the little princess was going to be sorely disappointed. "You're not going," I said for the hundredth time.
The human ignored me and opened the door I'd just shut, chucking a small duffel bag inside. "I call shotgun," he said, closing the door again, deaf to Fin's bitching about that being his spot.
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the man. He was a few inches shorter than me, so I looked down my nose at him. Humans. They thought they knew everything. They didn't seem to realize how fragile they were. A low-level hum of magic radiated from the guy, but I knew it was all borrowed—charms and spells cast by a real magic user to keep his weak ass safe when he did something stupid. Like insist on accompanying me across the wastelands.
He ran a hand through his chestnut curls, ruining the carefully styled businessman image. At least he wasn't wearing a suit today. But the designer jeans and crisp button-down were just as bad. "You hired me to do this, because you are obviously afraid your cousin won't make it through the wastes without being attacked." By monsters or humans—he hadn't clarified which he was more afraid of, but I was betting there was at least some risk of an assassination attempt or some other political bullshit. "And you want me to take you—the newly appointed human sovereign of Westhold—right out there into the middle of it. Do you realize what would happen if you died? I'm not taking the blame for that!"
His flame blue eyes were unwavering, and his compact form showed no tension. He wasn't angry with me. Because he was confident about getting his way. The spoiled little jackass.
"This is my mission," he reminded me. "I'm the one paying you. And it's my family involved. I'm not going to sit here and twiddle my thumbs."
I rolled my eyes. "Can you even do anything to defend yourself? Guns? Knives? Throw a punch without breaking your weak little human hand?"
He arched a brow at me, unamused. "Your worry is touching, Sam. But I'm not made of glass, I assure you. I know how to throw a punch. You can teach me to shoot a gun or use a knife on the way."
I ground my teeth together. "I'm not worried about you, asshole. I'm worried about my own damned hide when you get murdered and the humans blame me and my guild and decide they need a public execution to put the curs in their place!"
He sighed and waved a hand at his butler. "There hasn’t been a public execution in years. Jules?"
"Yes, Sir," the stiff, immaculate man intoned in a patient voice.
"Am I leaving here under any sort of coercion?"
"Certainly not, Sir." He arched a blond brow. "I doubt anyone could coerce you into anything."
Theo smirked, as if he was proud of his moronic stubborn streak. "So, I'm entering into this trip by my own choice, and nothing that happens to me will be Sam's responsibility, correct?"
Jules nodded. "I will attest to such, should the need arise. Though," he slid a look my way. "I would prefer not to be faced with the necessity of finding another employer."
I huffed. "I'm not a fucking bodyguard. I'll try to keep his ass safe from fiends and curs. That's it."
Ahura came around the end of the camper and draped an arm around my waist, pressing her lush, leather-clad curves against my side. "That's why I'm here, right? To take care of anything else that...pops up? Stop being so overprotective of the human, Sam, or your mates in there are gonna get jealous." She hiked a thumb back at Fin and Emerson.
I glared down at her and pointedly removed her arm from my waist, ignoring the inuendo in her words. We'd decided to bring the unsanctioned killer into our guild for this little job as a sort of trial run. She had been good for information the last time we worked for Theo. And she was right—I was used to hunting fiends and curs-gone-bad. Animals. Dealing with people was more her thing. She'd been a people-killer with her old gang. She would, hopefully, be useful if we were attacked by something other than monsters—if we had to defend ourselves against rational, thinking attackers.
Plus, you know, Fin and Emerson could use all the help we could get to bolster their newbie hunter skills.
I sighed. While we were standing here arguing, time was ticking. We needed to get to Golding in three days so we could meet Theo's cousin and get her back here before some inaugural bullshit that I had tuned out. We were on a time limit, and I'd rather do most of our traveling in the daylight, when we could see the terrain and all the other threats around us. Headlights were like a beacon out in the uninhabited wastelands, a big ol’ signal screaming "Look! Food!"
"Fine," I ground out. "But you will listen to me when I tell you to do something." I leaned into the human's space, watching his blue eyes track my movements. "You might be some hot-shit politician here, but out there, you're just a snack."
He pressed his lips together for a second before replying. "I don't need you to remind me of how weak I am, hunter. I'll do as you say if we're under attack." His lips tilted up into that sly I-know-something-you-don't-know smile that transformed his plain features into something dangerous. "But when it comes to making decisions about anything else, I'm still your sovereign."
I ignored the little thrill that shot through my gut at the reminder of his status. At first, I'd hated the guy just on principal, dismissed him as a weak human. But the more I interacted with him, the more there was this...hidden edge to him. And it pushed my buttons in ways I just wasn't willing to examine. Fuck my life.
"Get in the damned vehicle," I said, spinning and stomping off to get behind the wheel.
There was a scuffle, and I turned to see Theo had somehow won out against Ahura for shotgun. Just fucking great. Now I'd have to endure his attempts at small talk all day.
"If you talk to me," I said, as I buckled my seatbelt. "I swear to the Gods, I will throw you out the door and pretend you were never with us when the authorities come looking for you."
He reached back and pulled his duffel bag into the space between our seats, then rummaged around, coming up with a book. I saw the title had something to do with warfare and strategy. "I'll be quiet as a mouse," he promised. But his blue eyes were full of stupid, childish delight, like he thought this was going to be some grand adventure.
I sighed.
It was going to be a long fucking trip.
"The rest of you asshats ready to go?" I asked, looking up at the rearview mirror.
Ahura was shuffling cards at the table, while Fin and Emerson divvied up poker chips. Emerson's big brown eyes met mine and he gave me a sickeningly soft smile, like he loved it when I called him names. Fin sighed in exasperation. "Just stop being a fussy mother hen and drive already, Saber," he said, giving me a dismissive wave.
I might murder them all before we even left town.